“Demonstrate professional leadership and communication skills.”
Leadership in the Information Professions
Germano (2011) states that unlike managers, leaders “deal with the complex exchange of emotion, influence, motivation and ideas in order to inspire people to engage in desired behaviors or actions.” Management is about telling people what to do. Leadership is about making people want to do things. Anyone in any position in an organization can demonstrate leadership qualities, whether they are in a management position or not. The goal is to inspire, to communicate, and to be an agent for positive change. The world is constantly changing; there is always new information and new people to help, and there will always be things that need improving in information management systems. Information professionals must have the skills to bring about needed changes in their organization, communicating and cooperating with their teams to bring about those changes as smoothly as possible.
Change leadership is essential for keeping libraries and other information organizations relevant. Germano (2011) explains that leaders in information professions need to embrace change and lead their organizations into the future. He says that if library leaders try to keep things the way they always have been and don’t embrace new technologies and methods to access information, they will appear out of touch and have a difficult time helping their patrons.
Barefoot (2024) explains that leaders must do some self-reflection to be effective in managing organizational change. They must ask themselves: What motivates me? What inspires me to make this change? How do I lead people? Is the way I lead effective, or is it causing problems?
Effective Communication
Communication in an information organization means talking about what needs to be done, making sure everyone is on the same page about who does what, what the top priorities are, and how patrons and artifacts should be treated. Information professionals must be effective communicators with their coworkers and with the patrons they serve. Alman (2022) describes active listening skills that are required of any information professional when interacting within or outside of the organization. These include avoiding distractions, taking notes, and asking for clarification to be sure they understand.
Alman also notes that research has found that nonverbal cues such as tone of speech, facial expressions, and body language “account for 60 percent or more of the message that is transmitted from the sender.” This means that to understand the meaning of what someone is saying, it is important to pay attention to nonverbal cues. However, many different situations can affect how clearly nonverbal cues come across. Different cultures express and interpret nonverbal cues differently. Individuals with different bodies and brains, such as neurodivergent individuals or those with limited sight or hearing, may not understand or use nonverbal cues in the same way that an average person would. Virtual conversations, whether through text, phonecall, or videocall, make it difficult to see or hear some or all nonverbal cues. The needs of the individual we are communicating with may not be obvious when we first start talking to them. This is why it is important to practice active listening, ask questions for clarification, and try to understand the needs of the person we are talking to. We also need to be direct and straightforward with our words. Goulet (2022) explains that although research shows that 15 to 20 percent of the global population may be neurodivergent, many individuals hide the fact that they are neurodivergent to avoid stigma. Yet many neurodivergent individuals still have difficulty communicating with people. Because of this, it is important to communicate clearly and logically, and avoid sarcasm and vagueness with individuals whom we do not know very well. Miscommunications will inevitably arise, and when they do, we must be willing to amend the situation and ask the individual how to better communicate with them in the future. Miscommunications can also be avoided if we first ask individuals how we can best meet their needs and communicate with them effectively.
Items of Evidence
Evidence Item 1: Group Project Reflection
This item is a paper I wrote reflecting my experience doing a group project for the course INFO 202: Information Retrieval System Design. This shows my ability to lead and work together with a group in a project that involves using a technology that is unfamiliar to us. I realized with this project that I tended to think in terms of what the computer wants instead of what the users need. It is important to communicate to your team what the limitations of the software are, but also to listen to what they need and try different options to meet group goals. I need to remember that I am serving people, not serving computers.
Evidence Item 2: Group Assessment
This item is my assessment of each member of my group for the course INFO 204: Information Professions. This item shows that I can evaluate the leadership and communication skills of others as well as myself, and note a team’s strengths, weaknesses, and potential for improvement. Although I was not the main leader of this group, I did exhibit leadership and communication skills in this group by asking that the group set up an agenda for each meeting and take notes on what was said and what assignments were made. I feel like this was key to making sure we were all on the same page.
Evidence Item 3: Group Ground Rules
This item is the ground rules that my teammates and I wrote and followed for our multiple group assignments throughout the course INFO 204: Information Professions. I learned a lot about having a successful team when working with this group. The fact that we had a plan for how and when to communicate with each other and that we assigned tasks to each person from the start made it easier for us to stay on task. Because we were able to stay on task, I felt more confident sharing my ideas and socializing with the group. In other groups, I have felt like everyone was focusing too much on socializing and not establishing ground rules and goals, which made me feel like if I shared my thoughts on how to get done, it would just waste more time. There is a delicate balance between getting to know one another and staying on task and focused, and how to do it will depend on the group. For me, being upfront and direct about what we were doing and how we were able to do it made me feel more relaxed about working with the group.
Evidence Item 4: Leadership Reflection and Infographic
This item is an infographic and audio commentary on the skills needed for leadership in the archival profession. I created these objects for the course INFO 204: Information Professions. This shows I recognize some of the major challenges present in the archival field and some of the leadership skills needed to overcome those challenges. These skills include communication, project management, and anticipating and embracing change. My favorite part of my audio reflection is my quote from Abrams about how good leadership requires a quiet courage. Courageous leadership does not have to be loud or belligerent. Real change occurs when you are willing to talk to people and come up with a compromise that suits all parties. I see myself as that kind of a leader; someone who is passionate enough to inspire change, but to do so in a way that involves listening and not just pushing people around.
Conclusion
Leadership and communication skills are essential no matter what position I work in and whatever the job environment looks like. In order for my organization to get to where we need to be, to reach our purpose and vision, we need to communicate effectively and motivate each other. The best way for me to improve my leadership and communication skills is to honestly ask the people I work with and the people I lead what they need from me and how I can communicate best with them. I will also follow publications from the American Library Association and the Society for American Archivists about leadership and communication topics. These are skills that need to be continuously improved and updated, and I need to be careful not to grow complacent in my attitude about my ability to lead and communicate.
References
Alman, S. W. (2022). Communication, Marketing, and Outreach Strategies. In Hirsh, S. (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp.374-387). Roman & Littlefield.
Barefoot, R. (2022). Change management. In Hirsch, S. (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp.271-281). Roman & Littlefield.
Germano, M. (2011). Library leadership that creates and sustains innovation. Library Leadership & Management, 25(3), 1. https://doi.org/10.5860/llm.v25i3.2085
Goulet, J.D. (2022, October 5). Stop asking neurodivergent people to change the way they communicate. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/10/stop-asking-neurodivergent-people-to-change-the-way-they-communicate
Martin, J. (2019). The leadership/followership process: A different understanding of library leadership. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 45(1), 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2018.11.004